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Lethal Weapon

1987 · directed by Richard Donner · 110 min
25,297 feet · Prominence
410th of 24,106 films scored
The Rewatchables‘Lethal Weapon’ With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan →

How this film scores

Draw66

Lifetime worldwide gross $120m, re-releases included; about $349m in 2026 money.

Rank965 of 11,051In 19878 of 162

How Draw works

Inflation-adjusted worldwide box office, on one global curve, and nothing else. It does not know whether a film was good.

Praise76

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics75 baseAwards5 signal → +1 lift

Oscars1 nominated Sound
How Praise works

Critics set the score; a tiered award record, Picture and Directing carrying the most weight, claims half the headroom above it. Praise is the verdict at the time; Legacy is the verdict since.

Legacy68

Judged directly: Buddy cop template, franchise launcher.

Verdict68 of 100IMDb7.6 from 294kWikipedia0k views a monthAge39 years

Scored beside it · 367 of 4,039 films judged

If it does not belong in this company, the number is wrong.

How Legacy works

Legacy is a judgment, not a formula. A film can be adored by critics and culturally quiet, or lightly reviewed and permanently lodged in the culture, and no arithmetic over IMDb numbers tells the difference. Every signal behind it keeps updating.

draw 66 praise 76 legacy 68averages 70, placing it at25,297 ft
How the three become one number

Added, not multiplied, so a film transcendent on one pillar and weak on another is not zeroed out. A compression curve then squeezes the top, because the seven greatest films ever made should not be four thousand feet apart.

Whose apex this is

▲ Danny Glover

In these careers — elevation for this film

Mel Gibson20,150 ftDanny Glover19,766 ftGary Busey18,521 ftMitchell Ryan18,101 ftDon Gordon17,639 ftJack Thibeau17,632 ft